Tolland Duo Back From Busy Stints Fighting Wildfires

TOLLAND, CT — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Thursday hailed the safe return of the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew following its recent deployment to Montana. The crew featured two Tolland residents, one of which is a fire official at the University of Connecticut.

The Tolland duo was also in Quebec fighting wildfires before heading to Montana.

The crew was on Aug. 8 to the Colt fire a few miles northwest of Seely Lake in Montana. In all, 16 members battled fires in "near red flag conditions."

The CIFC members included Tristan Renshaw and Chris Renshaw from Tolland. Chris is the deputy fire chief at UConn and Tristan works for the DEEP as a seasonal staffer in the Parks Division. He is a recent graduate of E.O. Smith High School and is anticipating joining the United States Marines this fall.

The DEEP's Forestry Division, which oversees CIFC, maintains a roster comprised of agency staff members and private individuals, many of whom are closely affiliated with local fire departments. They have undergone rigorous training and successfully completed an annual physical work capacity test and refresher training.

"I'm so thankful for the dedication and sacrifice exemplified by the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew and their willingness to travel far from home to provide invaluable assistance to other states," DEEP Deputy Commissioner Mason Trumble said. "The skills and experience they gain through these trips ensures we have a well-trained and prepared fire crew, ready to respond to fires that may occur here in Connecticut."

DEEP officials Thursday gave a special shout-out to Chris Renshaw, the Crew Boss for the deployment.

"Chris sacrificed a valuable training opportunity to step in to lead the already assembled crew when the original crew boss became unavailable. Chris' dedication and sacrifice exemplify what CIFC members are all about," officials said.

Chris Renshaw, a veteran of many wild fire deployments, said the Montana fire started in late July, and the request for help came in the first week of August.

"I was packing to head to a fire in Idaho as a division supervisor trainee on the Type 2 Eastern Area Incident Management Team, a position I have been working toward in my 24 years in wildfire," Renshaw said. "Rich Schenk, the DEEP's Eastern District Fire Control Officer, and coordinator for the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew, called me and asked if I could assist in filling the crew boss role for an assembled team that found itself last minute without a leader."

He didn't hesitate to make the switch.

"I knew the right answer immediately was to assist the crew, but needed to ensure I wasn’t going to burn any bridges or jeopardize my training path with this rapid change of plans. Rich explained the situation to the IMT (of which he is also on) and cleared the path for Connecticut to respond," he said. "The crew also had firefighters from the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine on it — a testament to the response capabilities of our strong New England first responders."

Chris Renshaw said the crew worked 16-to- 18 hours a day, for 14 days straight at the southern portion of the 7,000-plus acre wildfire. It was extinguished and contained, in extremely steep, rugged, terrain covered in heavy timber and populated by grizzly bears and the crew heard the "occasional howling" of a nearby wolf pack.

Temperatures ranged from 90 degrees during the day to lows of 36 at night, under "big sky" stars seen briefly from tents as the crew slept the few hours allotted before waking and working again, he said.

The Renshaws had returned just two weeks before the Montana trip from another assignment in the northern part of Quebec, helping Canadian officials fight wildfires. On that assignment, Tristan was a firefighter working for a Massachusetts crew representing Connecticut and Chris was a Task Force Leader.